--- title: "Zidane Surprises with France's Nations League Squad: Pagis Debuts Amid Seven Absences" description: "Zidane names France's squad for the final rounds of the 2026/27 Nations League: 23-year-old Pablo Pagis receives his first call-up, while seven players miss out through injury, including Saliba and Dembélé." date: 2026-11-07T14:52:31.573Z lang: en url: https://xab.info/en/posts/zidane-france-nations-league-squad-pagis-debut tags: [france-national-team, nations-league, zinedine-zidane, pablo-pagis, football] author: "Dmitriy Shatolov" publisher: "XAB.info" --- # Zidane Surprises with France's Nations League Squad: Pagis Debuts Amid Seven Absences ![A football player wearing number 7 dribbles the ball on the pitch during a match](https://xab.info/media/2026/11/07/zidan-zayavka-francii-liga-naciy-pazhis-debyut/zidan-zayavka-francii-liga-naciy-pazhis-debyut-1.webp) ## Key Points - Zidane announced a 23-player France squad for the concluding group stage matches of the 2026/27 Nations League. - 23-year-old forward Pablo Pagis, son of former striker Mickaël Pagis, received his maiden senior national team call-up. - Seven players have withdrawn due to injuries: Akliouche, Saliba, Koundé, Lacroix, Koné, Dembélé, and Lepaul. - France leads their League A group with 10 points after four matches (three wins, one draw). France head coach Zinedine Zidane has announced a 23-player squad for the concluding group stage matches of the 2026/27 UEFA Nations League. This was reported by Sport RBC.UA, citing the French Football Federation. The list features both notable new faces and serious personnel losses: injuries have forced seven players out of the upcoming fixtures, including key defenders and attacking players. ### The Main Surprise: Pablo Pagis Debuts The central event of the squad announcement is the call-up of 23-year-old forward Pablo Pagis, who received his first-ever senior national team selection for France. The forward, who is the son of former French striker Mickaël Pagis, was included in the squad to replace the injured Maghnes Akliouche, who sustained a calf muscle injury. This season, Pagis has already scored two goals and provided one assist, which likely served as the decisive argument for his debut with the senior national team. ### Injury Blows: Seven Players Miss Out Alongside Akliouche, upcoming fixtures will be missed due to health issues by William Saliba, Jules Koundé, Maxence Lacroix, Manu Koné, Ousmane Dembélé, and Esteban Lepaul. The loss of players like Saliba, Koundé, and Dembélé severely impacts squad depth and forces Zidane to reshuffle both his defense and attacking line ahead of the final group stage rounds. ### Full Squad List The goalkeeping and defensive lines are represented as follows: defenders include Andy Diouf, Jérémy Jacquet, Ibrahima Konaté, Malo Gusto, Pierre Kalulu, Adrien Truffert, Dayot Upamecano, and Leny Yoro. The midfielders selected are Eduardo Camavinga, Rayan Cherki, Lucas Da Cunha, Adrien Rabiot, Aurélien Tchouaméni, and Warren Zaïre-Emery. The attacking line consists of Bradley Barcola, Désiré Doué, Kylian Mbappé, Michael Olise, Marcus Thuram, and debutant Pablo Pagis. ### Group Standings and Match Schedule The France national team approaches the concluding rounds of the Nations League group stage sitting in first place in their League A group. After four matches, Zidane's team has accumulated 10 points, securing three wins and one draw. The first encounter will take place at the San Siro stadium in Milan, while the second will be held at the Matmut Atlantique (Stade Atlantique) in Bordeaux. Thus, ahead of the final two matches, France has the opportunity to solidify their group leadership despite significant personnel setbacks. ## Fact-Check & Sources - [Зидан удивил заявкой Франции на Лигу наций: дебютант и семь кадровых потерь](https://sport.rbc.ua/ukr/football/zidan-zdivuvav-zayavkoyu-frantsiyi-ligu-natsiy-1794062807.html) - Primary source: full squad list, injury report, details on Pagis, group standings (10 points, 3 wins, 1 draw), and match schedule (Milan, Bordeaux). - [Зидан выделил двух игроков после волевой победы над Бельгией в Лиге наций](https://www.ua-football.com/foreign/nations_league/1791288876-zidan-vydelil-dvuh-igrokov-posle-volevoy-pobedy-nad-belgiey-v-lige-naciy.html) - Context: confirms France's participation in the Nations League and victory over Belgium; the scoreline (4:1) was omitted from the article to avoid discrepancies. - [Зидан: «Удар Олисе меня не удивил»](https://www.soccer.ru/news/1437887/zidan-zinedin) - Context: Zidane's comments after the match against Belgium; not used in the core article about the squad. - [Легендарный игрок вернулся в сборную Франции и удивил Зидана](https://vesti.kz/national/legendarnyiy-igrok-vernulsya-sbornuyu-frantsii-udivil-zidana-388569/) - Context: information regarding the coaching staff (Fabien Barthez); does not impact squad facts. ## FAQ ### Who made their debut in the France squad? 23-year-old forward Pablo Pagis, son of former French striker Mickaël Pagis, received his first senior national team call-up. ### How many players will miss the matches due to injury? Seven: Maghnes Akliouche, William Saliba, Jules Koundé, Maxence Lacroix, Manu Koné, Ousmane Dembélé, and Esteban Lepaul. ### Where and when will France's remaining matches take place? The first match is at the San Siro in Milan, and the second is at the Stade Atlantique in Bordeaux. ### What is France's position in the Nations League group? The team sits in first place in League A Group with 10 points after four matches, having recorded three wins and one draw.